The Poster For Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Movie About A Porn Addict Is Terrible Compared To The Trailer

Not because the movie’s bad. It isn’t. But Gordon-Levitt
casts himself as a lothario handicapped by his addiction to
hardcore, graphic pornography … and that doesn’t necessarily
speak to the theatergoers in the Midwest, so to speak.

So it’s understandable that Relativity Media would go with
this safe, bland, somewhat generic headshot-montage poster to
start preparing Don Jonfor the masses.
Credit goes to EW.com for
being able to share it first.

I mean, Relativity couldn’t
necessarily put naked chicks on the first Don Jon poster. But maybe the studio could
have suggested the character’s online obsessions through its
poster imagery, because this very easily could be a movie for one
of the cheesy, predictable rom-coms Scarlett Johansson’s
adores.

In Don Jon, JGL plays a club rat who trolls Jersey’s
hottest bars in search of an ideal mate. He finally finds one in
ScarJo, but is unwilling to ease up on his online compulsions
just because he eventually ends up in a semi-serious
relationship.

Moore’s presence on the poster
is deceiving. She does play an important role in Jon’s emotional
development. But I much rather would have liked to
see Tony
Danza’s head in a
character square on the poster, as his lecherous, domineering
father is a far more memorable part of Gordon-Levitt’s ensemble.
Then again, I understand that Danza on a poster isn’t going to
sell a ton of movie tickets. Word of mouth on Danza’s terrific
performance, however, might help Don Jon earn award nominations and, possibly,
trophies.

Relativity scooped
up Don
Jon back when it was
called Don
Jon’s Addiction,
playing the Sundance and South By Southwest film festivals. It’s
planning to drop the movie into theaters on Sept. 27, where a
successful run through arthouse venues could help
position the film for
Golden Globes and Independent Spirit Awards competitions. Would
Oscar ever wake up and recognize the accomplishments of JGL’s
strong, confident directorial debut? Unlikely. The subject matter
is too risqué for the Academy, despite the fact that Danza,
Johansson and Gordon-Levitt give some of the most remarkable
performances of their careers. Don Jonneeds to be on your radar as the busy fall
film season gets underway. Don’t let this poster fool you into
believing that JGL has created something conventional with his
film. He has learned more than a few storytelling tricks from the
likes of Christopher Nolan, Rian Johnson and other top directors
with whom he has collaborated over the years.

As you digest the poster,
here’s the latest trailer for Don Jon. Look for updates on the film as it heads
to theaters in the coming weeks.